'They probably don't need all this room for people to sit around.' Drive-thrus have outperformed locations without drive-thrus, he said, and having smaller seating areas to maintain could give Starbucks some savings. Fort Collins' traffic operations department has been receiving calls about heavy drive-thru traffic in the city, specifically at Raising Cane's, 2108 S. 'The days of customers getting a coffee and hanging out are probably behind,' he told Insider. Focusing on drive-thru and mobile ordering is in part an impact of the pandemic, but the shift in priority was happening before COVID-19 hit, Yarbrough said. These changes at Starbucks don't mean that most locations will be without seating and space for customers to gather, Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough told Insider. This concept is in conflict with the chain's more recent emphasis on convenience, shifting the definition of 'third place' into a ' mindset' over a physical space. The chain presented itself as a 'third place,' where people can gather outside of homes and workplaces. Starbucks initially grew into a massive success by popularizing a premium coffee experience and introducing Americans to espressos drinks like lattes. The chain is considering locations that are drive-thru only, and has already created pick-up only stores and partnered with Amazon to launch a joint Amazon Go store where only mobile orders and payments are accepted. Starbucks closed some lower-performing mall locations in the past to focus more on drive-thrus. About half of locations have technology that allows customers to order through tablets operated by workers in drive-thru lines, and 65% of locations are planned to have them by the end of 2022, CEO Howard Schultz said in the call. About 90% of new locations are being built with drive-thrus, The Wall Street Journal reported in May. In other words, just 28% of customers enter Starbucks and place their orders with baristas, some of them staying and drinking their beverages on Starbucks property.Ĭustomers seem to love the convenience of alternative ordering methods, and Starbucks is making it even easier. Over two-thirds of orders now come from the mobile app, drive-thru, and delivery, the coffee giant said in an August earnings call. Starbucks is moving farther away from its roots in favor of convenience and efficiency. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

Drive thru starbucks fort collins